Americana: Everything Old is New Again

Nostalgia can be comforting even if you’re nostalgic for a time you never knew. So it doesn’t matter if you’ve never sailed on a paddleboat, eaten at an old-fashioned diner, or gone to a drive-in movie. These retro experiences might be just the whimsy you need.

Modern Paddleboats

American Queen

Steam-powered riverboats which could sail in shallow waters were vital to the development of commerce along the Mississippi River and the first steamboat outfitted with a back paddlewheel was launched in 1814. American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC) was founded to transport guests back to the days when America’s waterways represented prosperity and the promise of discovery. Its flagship, American Queen, is the largest steamboat in the world. She can accommodate 428 passengers in genteel, Victorian-style and has an elegant dining room, a spa, and a musical calliope made of steam-operated whistle pipes played by an organ keyboard.

In the Pacific Northwest, diesel-powered American Empress plies the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Victorian-inspired style. Drawing on the bountiful seafood, produce, wines, and craft beers of the area, the Pacific Northwest-inspired cuisine is a voyage highlight. The largest overnight riverboat west of the Mississippi can accommodate 223 passengers.

American Dutchess

American Dutchess is the most contemporary paddleboat and geared to younger travelers. The first all-suite paddlewheeler dazzles with a two-story lobby with geometric chandeliers and abstract art. Staterooms range from interior suites to 550-squarefoot Loft Suites with two-story windows and private balconies. The Duchess holds 166 passengers.

American Countess, the newest jem in the fleet, will sail from Memphis to St. Louis. Returning to a more traditional design, staterooms are trimmed in walnut with blue and white accents. The Countess accommodates 245 passengers. The Queen, The Duchess, and The Countess cruise the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers.

Finer Diners

Gimme two dots and a dash, shingles with a shimmy and a shake, and a moo juice. That’s diner slang for two fried eggs with a strip of bacon, buttered toast with jam, and a glass of milk. Diner slang would have to be gussied up a lot to convey the sophisticated fare served at these diners.

Atlanta’s Buckhead Diner is considered a classic for such specialties as blue cheese potato chips, veal and wild mushroom meatloaf, and its James Beard Award-winning White Chocolate Banana Pie.

Buckhead Diner

At the A1 Diner in Gardiner, Maine, expect everything from Maine fried clams and New England pot roast to lamb kebabs with pomegranate molasses marinade and spicy shrimp with soba noodles.

A1 Diner

Catskill’s, NY Phoenicia Diner is a farm-totable diner serving modern interpretations of traditional diner food. Highlights include Crab Benedict and the Superfood Salad with Hudson Valley steelhead trout, spinach, and quinoa.

Phoenicia Diner

Bette’s Oceanview Diner in Berkeley, California is best known for its pancakes including freshly grated potato pancakes with house-made applesauce and sour cream, and banana rum or apple brandy soufflé pancakes.

Bette’s Oceanview Diner

Drive-Ins

The first drive-in movie theater opened near Camden, New Jersey in 1933 and although their heyday was the 1950’s and 60’s, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson in The Shining, “They’re back” and perfectly suited to social distancing.

The Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre opened in 1957 and is the only remaining drive-in on Cape Cod. In addition to a dairy bar that dispenses hard and soft-serve ice cream, moviegoers can enjoy oysters while watching double-feature, first-run films.

The owners of the new Four Brothers Drive-In in Amenia, New York, also run the Greek restaurant next door. So their menu features everything from burgers and milkshakes to Greek-salads, Lukumades, and cocktails with names like Sgroppino and Stephanie’s Desire. Bonus: the on-site Airstream “Hotel Caravana.”

With a 52 x 120 foot screen, Bengies Drive-In, outside of Baltimore, boasts the largest drive-in screen in the US. Between films, Bengies airs animated vintage intermission ads that encourage patrons to visit the concession stand. On Sundays, registered historic cars and street rods get in free.

Coyote crive

In Fort Worth, Texas, the Coyote Drive-In shows double features on four separate screens. The canteen’s menu includes everything from hot dogs and Frito pie to craft beer and Prosecco, all of which can be ordered from a smartphone.

The Pie’s the Limit

Yogi Berra once said, “Cut my pie into four pieces; I don’t think I could eat eight.” Here are ten pies that celebrate their state’s most prized ingredient. You can cut them any way you like.

Blueberry Pie: Two Cat’s Bakery, Portland, Maine

Cherry Crumb Pie: Grand Traverse Pie Co., Traverse City, Michigan (and four other locations)

Sweet Potato Pie: Jawanda’s Sweet Potato Pie, Birmingham, Alabama

Passion Orange Guava Pear Pie: Hawaiian Pie Co, Honolulu, Hawaii

Peanut Pie: The Virginia Diner, Wakefield, Virginia

Pumpkin Pie: Michele’s Pies, Norwalk, Connecticut

Key Lime Pie: Blue Heaven, Key West, Florida

Prickly Pear Pie: Cotton & Copper, South Tempe, Arizona

Maple Cream Pie: Wayside Restaurant & Bakery, Montpelier, Vermont

Huckleberry Pie: Luna’s Restaurant, Glacier Park, Montana